WIC funding uncertain after October

Program received emergency grant after shutdown

Published 6:04 PM CDT Oct 04, 2013

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -

A program helping thousands of families get the nutrition they need is in danger of running out of funding.

The Women, Infants and Children program sends money to families who qualify to buy groceries like bread or eggs. Parent Shanna Cox has relied on WIC funding since before her daughter, Rosalie, was born. Cox said WIC sends her family a folder with three months' worth of checks to buy the basics, like milk, cheese or eggs.

“All kinds of stuff cost a lot of money. When you have WIC, (it) helps you with your other things when you have a child," Cox said.

Cox is one of thousands depending on WIC for basic nutrition for her family.

The program is federally funded, but officials said it got an emergency grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture when the government shut down. According to the Department of Health, all WIC clinics will stay open. But the week-to-week funding is only expected to last until the end of the month.

“If they close that down, I think it would hurt us really bad," Cox said.

The Department of Health said about 60 percent of all newborns in Arkansas depend on WIC, either financially or nutritionally. The program is still accepting new applications, but officials said there isn’t a clear plan on what to do if the government is still shut down by the month's end.

The program served more than 23,000 infants and more than 42,000 children in August, health officials said.

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